Every year, it seems like Summer is more impossible. Are we growing old? Is it actually hotter? Is it both? Who knows (it’s probably the former). But the sad fact remains that patterns of routine that have helped us cope in the past, a cold glass of water here, a welcome shady corner there, are becoming more and more diminished, the returns just less effective at getting us home. It’s truly a death by a thousand cuts or, rather, death by a thousand drops (of sweat).

Each month, we always seem to come to the same conclusion when it comes to our Editors’ Picks column: Friday release days open the floodgates and unleash a seemingly endless stream of quality new music. But while some of our Editors and Contributors sit down gleefully each week to dive into this newly stocked treasure…

It’s a good thing Covet exist because they’re not only an example of how math-rock can be done right but also an example of how a band can learn that kind of restraint as it keeps working on what makes it tick. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Covet’s earlier releases; I even own a shirt! But there was definitely plenty on them which could have been excised for a more careful and powerful delivery. Focused on main guitarist and composer Yvette Young’s skills, the previous Covet efforts too often felt a bit thin and airy, sapped under the weight of too many notes. But effloresce is a whole different release; on it, Covet are much more a band in the true sense, parts supporting a richer, fuller, more impactful whole.